first mustang
 

well after 1 year of searching and 14 years of wishing, i finally bought my first mustang. 1998 gt, 22K miles, black/black, 5 speed, 16 inch "5 star pony" wheels, stock everything (about to change). bought it from the proverbial old man that only drove it on sundays, and kept it garaged the rest of the time. (he actually lives right down the street from me) it will be a daily driver, so i need some advice. i understand that stock, it came with 215 hp. i would like to get in the 290-300 hp range, which shouldnt be all that hard. my best guess would be underdrive pulleys, k&n air filter, cat back exhaust from borla, and possibly a chip. the only other mod i care to make is possibly with the suspension (lower it about 1", firmer springs), and maybe wheels.

my question is: what chip/exhaust/underdrive pulley manufacturers would you recommend, and will that get me to the horsepower range i want? and what spring manufacturer would you go with?

thanks guys and gals.

p.s.: x pipe or h pipe? whats are the benefits of each? i ask alot of questions cuz i dont want to screw up!

You will never get to 290 with what you are doing, "sorry". You may get to 260 or so. A full exhaust change helps the most and pullies and cold air will help a little more. Don't believe the ratings on each bolt on product. If they say 15Hp gain that is with a car they are really tweaking to get that, remember they want to make money. Don't buy gimmiky stuff either. Your best bet to get to 290-300Hp is to do the head and intake swap for about $1,400 bucks from Mr. Wheeler. The cost of full exhaust,especially Borla and pullies etc will be about 3/4 the cost of the head swap.
Head swap = 65+ Hp gain Bolt-Ons/exhaust = 40MaxHp.
But you decide what way to go! The H and X pipe give ABOUT the samp Hp gain but in different places on the Torque curve and depending on what type of mufflers you use. Someone with exhaust expertise wil certainly chime in and let you know.

Good Luck and MOD ON!

Forgot to mention your chip, Sorrry. The chip will get yoiu closer to 290-300 but not all the way. With the cost of the chip,exhaust,pullies you could get the head swap kit and buy the Bolt-Ons later. I wish I had!!

with the mods you listed, you are looking to be in the 240-250 hp range. IMO, the best first mod you can do is gears.